Article composed essentially of titanium and silver and method of producing the same.



' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AUGUSTE J. 30581, OF NIAGARA FALLS, NEW

ALLOY MANUFACTURING MAINE.

YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE TITANIUM COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y. A CORPORATION OF ARTICLE COMPOSED ESSENTIAILY OF TITANIUM AND SILVER AND METHOD OF No Drawing. Original application filed January 30, v1912, Serial No. 674.257.

filed February 27, 1912. Serial No. 680,370.

Specification of Letters Patent.

PRODUCING THE SAME.

Patented May 7, 1912.

Divided and this application To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUGUsTn J. Rossi, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Niagara Falls, in the county of Niagara and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Article Composed Essentially of Titanium and Silver and a Method of Producing the Same, of which the following is a specification, my present application for patent being a division of my pending application, Serial No. 674,257, filed January 30, 1912.

The objects of my present invention comprise the production of a binary alloy of titanium with silver by a method so simple and reliable in operation, and so economical, as to justify manufacture on industrial scales. I attain these objects as hereinafter described.

I have discovered that the said binary alloy of titanium with silver is exceptionally useful for the purpose of purifying silver in mass as heretofore produced in the usual processes of manufacture. Silver, while in molten state, absorbs gaseous elements or compounds, which are dissolved in the metal and retained therein as it solidifies during cooling. For instance oxygen from the atmosphere is thus very largely absorbed, and, to a great extent, combined chemically with the silver, forming oxids thereof, which, together with oxygen, if any, remaining uncombined, are found occluded in the mass of the solidified metal.

The aforesaid foreign elements and compounds are usually unhomogeneously distributed in uncontrollable locations throughout the mass of the metal, thus producing blow-holes or other cavities or pits on the surface. The presence of such impurities and their result-ant imperfections in the metal not only disfigure it for certain purposes for which a high and perfect polished surface is desired, but also, after solidification of the metal, tend to subsequent ad ditional deteriorations of the metal, including particularly its continued undesirable oxidation by normal outside influences. The impurities mentioned, and their results on the metal, depreciate its value in mass for many special understood.

I have discovered that the said undesirable impurities can all of them be eliminated by adding to the silver, while molten, metallic titanium in amount proportioned to satisfy the chemical affinities therefor of such undesired elements properties, desirable in some cases, imparted by increasing such amount so as to retain in the resulting product a moderate proportion as for instance less than one per cen of titanium. Segregated titanium is still I believe unattainable in quantities suflicient for operations on an industrial scale or at all events unattainable except at too great cost. Moreover the peculiar characteristic properties of titanium, as compared with those of silver, cause it to less well, and readily, incorporate therewith when added thereto by itself alone than when added thereto in the form of an alloy thereof with silver. My alloy of titanium and silver is therefore of particular importance and utility for the purpose of purifying silver, or imparting thereto novel properties as aforesaid, as well as for other uses.

I prefer to produce my said alloy of titanium and silver as follows :I first charge into a graphite crucible, or other container properly adapted, some silver sufficient. on being melted to form a small supporting or init-iatory bath of that metal. To such silver I add an oxid of silver, for instance Ag O, and also titanic acid mixed therewith in such proportions as, on reduction, taken together with the silver of the bath, to impart to the resulting alloy the desired respective proportions of the two metals; To the said silver and mixture of oxids I also add such an amountof aluminum (preferably in shots or the like so as to melt more rapidly) as is chemically sufficient to decompose the oxids of silver and of titanium and reduce their respective titanium and silver contents to their metallic states. This mixture is then heated, by any convenient means, to a point at which the aluminum melts, thereby supplying a bath of molten aluminum to the charge.

and compounds, and also The additional heat developed by the reduction of the oxid of silver by the aluminum rapidly raises the charge to a temperature required to set up the reduction of the oxid of titanium by the aluminum, which then proceeds until the reduction of all the oxids present is completed. Care should be taken at this point to maintain the temperature of the charge sulliciently high, as by an electric furnace for instance, to maintain the fluidity of the nascent alloy, the reactions to which the latter is due being as per the following formula, assuming that AggO is the oxid of silver employed 3 (Ag O) Al A1,,O Ag

2A1 3TiO 2 (M 0 3Ti.

I prefer to employ the foregoing method largely because of its economy, the cost of the oxid requisite to produce the required amount of silver being considerably less than that of such amount of silver in metallic form, and also because the heat of formation of oxid of silver is so small compared to that of the formation of aluminum oxid as to leave a large surplus of heat immediately applicable to the reduction of the oxid of titanium whereby the reactions are pro- .moted and accomplished at .a considerably age of the former being proportional to the amounts of titanium oxidand aluminum charged.

The proportions of the ingredients used in the charge will be varied according to the percentage of the respective metals desired in the alloy according to the formulas above given and as experience and test in each case will readily demonstrate to those skilled in the metallurgical art is required for the particuclar purpose for which the alloy is to be use What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is the following, viz

1. The process of producing an alloy of titanium with silver which comprises incorporating titanic acid into a bath'comprising molten silver and molten aluminum, subjecting the bath to a temperature sullicient to insure reduction of said titanic acid by said aluminum and Withdrawing and cooling the resulting metallic product.

2. The method of producing an alloy of titanium with silver which comprises bringing into each others presence argentic material, titanic acid and aluminum, and subjecting them to a temperature sufiicient to produce therefrom under the conditions stated molten aluminum, and also molten silver and molten titanium.

3. The method of producing an alloy of titanium with silver which comprises bringing into each others presence oxid of silver, titanic acid, and aluminum, and subjecting them to a temperature sufficient to produce therefrom under the conditions stated molten aluminum, and also molten silver and molten tltanium.

AUGUSTE J. ROSSI.

Witnesses WILLIAM F. MEREDITH, ANDREW THOMPSON. 

